Carcinoembryonic antigen

Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a cell-adhesive glycoprotein that was discovered in colorectal cancer in 1965, and is hence one of the oldest and most used tumour markers. Its name derives from its normal expression in fetoembryonic liver, gut and pancreas tissue.

Normal range of CEA is <2.5 ng/ml in adult non-smokers and <5.0 ng/ml in smokers.